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World soccer divided over FIFA President Infantino's future
🇰🇷 South Korea /Sports

World soccer divided over FIFA President Infantino's future

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • World soccer is divided over FIFA President Gianni Infantino's actions, with continental confederations clashing.
  • Asian, European, and CONCACAF federations criticized Infantino's recent behavior in a joint statement.
  • The dispute stems from FIFA's plan to sell stakes in a new commercial subsidiary, which was later withdrawn after backlash.

The global soccer community is split over the actions of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, leading to conflict between continental confederations and even drawing in U.S. President Donald Trump. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) issued a joint statement on June 10 titled 'Open Letter to the Football Family.' They declared, 'Football does not belong to any individual or specific institution,' directly criticizing Infantino's recent conduct. This statement comes after FIFA's plan to establish a subsidiary, 'FIFA Forward Enterprises' (FFE), to manage major tournament commercial activities and sell off some stakes to private entities, faced strong opposition from the soccer world and was subsequently withdrawn. The three confederations emphasized in their letter that FIFA's significant growth over the past decade is a collective achievement, not the result of any single person's efforts. They stressed that leadership should serve football, not seek to dominate it.

Football does not belong to any individual or specific institution.

— AFC, UEFA, CONCACAFIn a joint statement criticizing FIFA President Gianni Infantino's recent actions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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